How to Make Fish Cakes with Rough Fish
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Nothing quite says beach vacation to me more than some good, fresh crab cakes. Sure, you can find crab cakes on the menu at a lot of nice restaurants all over the country, but something about eating them at an outdoor, beachfront, hole-in-the-wall restaurant feels right and makes them taste even better. Back in the fall, I assisted the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources with collecting otoliths from Asian Carp. If you’re not familiar, otoliths are the fish’s ear bones and much like the rings on a tree, they can be used to determine the age and growth rate of a fish. Recording this information helps map movement patterns for these invasive fish and because of this project, I was able to go home with multiple carp filets and a determination to create something delicious.
Asian Carp were first introduced to America in the 1960s and have become a highly invasive fish that pose a major threat to the ecology, environment, economy, and way of life in the Mississippi River water basin and surrounding waterways. They were originally introduced by fish farms in an effort to help clean commercial ponds, but due to flooding, escaped into waterways and began outcompeting native fish species for food sources. Culinary wise many people refer to them as trash fish, or say they are too full of bones to eat, but I disagree. In many Asian countries, these fish are highly regarded and are some of the most consumed fish. When prepared correctly, their meat is described as a cross between scallops and crab meat. That’s why I decided to develop this carp cake recipe and trust me, once you try it, you’ll be out there helping remove these invasive fish from our waters.
For this recipe, I began with already prepared smoked carp. You can either make the cakes immediately after smoking the carp, or you can package and freeze the carp for later use. For a great recipe on how to make smoked carp, I highly recommend using Matthew Dollenbacher’s recipe that he then uses for carp dip or salad.
Serving Size: 6 Cakes
Time to Make: 20 minutes
Also Works With: Any firm and oily fish such as catfish, suckers or drum
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How to Make Fish Cakes with Rough Fish
2-3
servings15
minutes5
minutesKeep the screen of your device on
Ingredients
1 egg
2 cups flaked smoked carp meat
⅔ cup of mayonnaise
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp dried parsley
1 tsp worcestershire sauce
1 tsp Old Bay seasoning
2 tsp hot sauce
¼ tsp garlic powder
¼ tsp onion powder
¾ cup panko breadcrumbs
Canola or avocado oil for frying
Preparation
- In a large mixing bowl, beat one egg.
- In the large bowl with beaten egg, combine all other ingredients except for the frying oil. Mix all ingredients well with your hands.
- Using a ⅓ cup measuring cup, portion out mixture and form into cakes.
- Add oil to a medium sized frying pan and heat over medium high.
- Fry cakes until golden brown on each side.
- Serve with sauce such as tarter or remoulade for a more cajun flavor.
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